Sunflower Seed Milk

Homemade nut & seed milks are not only incredibly healthful, pure and delicious, they are not complicated to make!

The beautiful thing about nut & seed milks, like juicing, is that by extracting the fibre, you are left with a nutrient-dense beverage made very bio-available to the body. This means the nutrients are quickly and easily absorbed into the bloodstream.

For any nut & seed milk, the standard ratio involves 1 cup nut/seeds to 4 cups water. Simply reduce the water volume if you'd like it to become creamier in texture and more concentrated in flavour.

Ingredients (for the milk pictured above):

1 cup raw sunflower seeds (soaked overnight)

4 cups water

*A high-speed blender (I used a Vitamix)

*A nut/seed milk bag or piece of cheesecloth (nut/seed milk bags should be available at your local health food store and typically cost between $5-$10).

*Fills approximately 1 mason jar.

Preparation:

*Soak 1 cup nut/seeds of choice in a bowl of water overnight, so that they are more easily blended the next day in your high-speed blender.

Rinse and drain the nuts/seeds prior to using them.

Combine the 1 cup nut/seeds with 4 cups water in your high-speed blender, adding the water to the blender first (to maintain the longevity of the blades and motor).

Blend the mixture until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a nut/seed milk bag that has been placed into an ample-sized mixing bowl or oversized glass measuring jug with a spout.

Gently squeeze the nut/seed milk bag until all fluid has seeped through and only the nut/seed fibre remains.

Store the milk in a tightly-sealed mason jar in the fridge if not using immediately. The milk will last for 4-5 days in the fridge, so plan to use it fairly soon after creation so that it doesn't go to waste. It will require a good shake upon consuming, as it will separate into its constituent parts upon sitting for some period of time in the refrigerator.

The leftover fibre that remains in the bag is just that - fibre. The nutrients have all been extracted so it is just bulk. You may compost it or use it in a smoothie, but please keep in mind that it is flavourless and is not providing any nutritional value to whatever recipe you may choose to add it to thereafter.